A text is a coherent set of signs that, codified in a system, form a unit of meaning and have a communicative intention. Didactics, in turn, is the area of pedagogy linked to practical teaching methods.
The didactic text, therefore, is one whose purpose is teaching. This type of text has a pedagogical orientation and tries to capture the guidelines of pedagogical theories. In general, literature was born with a didactic purpose, since the origin of writing is linked to the desire to collect the knowledge that, until then, was transmitted orally from generation to generation.
As a genre, the didactic text had a specific development after the classics (dramatic, lyrical and epic). Initially, these texts were developed in code or chronicle format and were intended to record historical events and establish rules of coexistence among peoples. Gradually, the didactic text began to appropriate other forms of knowledge transmission, with the inclusion of dialogues and monologues. From then on, didactics was divided into several subgenres, such as the essay (which includes the author’s personal approach), the treatise (where a topic is exhaustively analyzed) and oratory (which seeks to convince through oral language). Currently, most of the didactic texts are used in the field of school education and support the contents taught by teachers based on curricular plans. One of the fundamental points that must be fulfilled in the elaboration of a didactic text is the balance between the volume of information that is made available to the reader and the incentive to continue learning and investigating that is generated in it. This is a very difficult goal to achieve; In general, textbooks tend to be saturated with content, or present topics in a vague way and propose their extension with the help of supplementary material. It is worth mentioning that it is possible to distinguish between books for self-taught and those that will be used with the guidance of a teacher. The first group is expected to use friendly language that is close to the reader, given that their level of technical knowledge may be very low or non-existent; Self-learners are often very determined and intuitive when it comes to learning, but a poorly written text with impractical advice or a lack of essential information can result in poor learning.
When a teacher intervenes in the educational process, he or she must commit to taking advantage of the tools and content that the texts offer, taking advantage of their potential and knowing how to fill in their gaps, so that the concepts generate an indelible impact on life. of students Forced memorization of dates and events is known to be useless; Likewise, few people are attracted to a book written in a language whose complexity is beyond their reach. In recent years there has been a fusion between textbooks and the resources offered by computers, which began by complementing information with simple interactive applications included on diskettes or CDs, and evolved to include updated multimedia content through the Internet, with access to forums. and online tutorials. This is especially useful for language learning, as it allows the student to listen to audio recordings with the correct pronunciation and intonation of phrases and dialogues from the book, essential practice for developing a correct accent.
